U2 cancel Glastonbury headline slot

[dutchman]

U2 have been forced to cancel their headline slot at Glastonbury and postpone US and Canadian tour dates, following frontman Bono's back surgery.

The singer, who was treated for temporary partial paralysis last week, will be recuperating for the next two months.

"I'm heartbroken," said Bono, whose band were due to top the bill on Friday, June 25. "We really wanted to be there to do something really special." The Irish rock group have also pulled a scheduled 16-date tour, which was booked for June and July.

The band's manager Paul McGuinness told Reuters: "Clearly this is a serious injury and the recuperation time necessary to rehabilitate Bono is a big problem for the U2 tour and has unfortunately necessitated the postponement of 16 shows in North America.

"Obviously Bono feels terrible about missing these shows and we are working as fast as we can with Live Nation to reinstate them and reschedule them for next year.

"For a performer like him to miss shows is a terrible thing and he feels awful about it. He shouldn't. The most important thing is for him to get better and return to his full power as a performer."

After speaking to the group via phone, Glastonbury boss Michael Eavis said that it was clear U2 were "hugely disappointed" to miss playing the festival.

"Clearly, they were looking forward to playing the Pyramid Stage as much as we were looking forward to watching them," he said. "At this point, we have no comment to make about possible replacements for U2's Friday night slot.

"Instead, we would simply like to send Bono our very best wishes for a full and speedy recovery."

The neurosurgeon who treated the 50-year-old said that the prognosis was "excellent", but insisted that the singer must "enter a period of rehabilitation".

"The surgery was the only cause of treatment for full recovery and to avoid further paralysis. Bono is now much better with complete recovery of his motor-deficit." he said.